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That Heye
That Heye (Oceana pronunciation: /t̪ʰat̪ 'høɪ̯(jɛ)/) is a natural elevation and heathland in central West-Oceana, near Dubnitz in the North Coast district. In comparison to the rest of the Pacific Plains, it is hilly. It lies in the middle of the transition zone between the Polish and the Duenn Forests, a few kilometers north of the Syf river. The area is grazed by sheep held by locals from Dubnitz. Recently, a lot of criticism has been expressed regarding the management of the area, as it was not grazed originally. Environmentalists fear that grazing will alter and possible destroy this fragile landscape. That Heye is one of the few areas in Oceana where flowering plants are common, apart from the Emerald Highlands and along the Beaver River. Due to fertilizing, grasses have become more common, but originally the area was covered almost exclusively by plants of the Heyalus genus, plants strongly resembling the Calluna species, or heather, that is common in Europe, but not related. This genus includes over fifty different species, making That Heye the most diverse natural environment of Oceana when it comes to biodiversity, together with Svolnick Moor. Another native plant that is common in the region is the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), although it has been suggested that this plant was accidently introduced by early settlers in the region. A type of heath that was introduced by early settlers and has blended in well is gorze (Ulex). That Heye is a chalk heath, a very rare type of heath and the only one to occur in Lovia. The area has a thin layer of sand on top of a layer of chalk. As chalk is very rare in Oceana, the region used to experience a lot of illegal mining by the residents of Dubnitz, who sold the chalk on the Hurbanova and East Hills markets. These activities devastated large parts of the area, and subsequent soil management, including the excessive dumping of tons of redundant sand from dredging activities in the Hurbanova Stream have turned a large part of the area into mixed forest, exactly like the surroundings. Another threat to the heathland was manuring, in order to create a more agriculturally friendly environment. Superfluous manure from Hurbanova farms was brought to That Heye in order to create new, fertile land. This practise has stopped since the early eighties. Recovery hardly occurs though, and the affected areas have turned into a wasteland covered with weeds, such as shrubs and high grasses. Locals have made efforts to increase productivity in these already irreparable areas by growing lavender. That Heye is often compared to Noowet Grasslands. The latter, however, is not a real heathland as it mainly contains grasses. The areas do share a lot of plant and animal species. They also share the relative dryness. As they are both elevations and lack any water, in the form of pools and streams, they were both able to develop a unique biotope. Category:Geography of Oceana Category:Nature of Oceana